Returning to France Day Four

Song - Don't Panic by The Hot Club of San Francisco



My friends and I took an early morning Uber (pronounced Eww-Bear in France) to the Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature which is a private museum of hunting and nature in the 3rd Arr. in Paris. 

 They had several stuffed animals but most of what they displayed were items related to animals and hunting.  Above is a young falconer and below is a leather cap that falcons wore.

Here is a plate with the man of the house returning home with dinner.

From there we walked to the Marais and the Place des Vosges which is the oldest planned square in Paris and was built by Henri IV in 1612. It has red brick buildings and archways around a tree lined park.

No one was hungry until we saw some delicious salads coming out of Cafe Ma Bourgogne and we were gonners! We sat under one of the red brick arches and enjoyed a lovely lunch.

Next we walked over to the Jardin de Plantes as I wanted to see the Buffon Gazebo (see photo below) and Jackie wanted to see the bird aviary.  Both were a bust. 

The Gazebo was being restored so after walking up a hilltop labyrinth we were greeted with a construction site. And the aviary was kind of sad looking with only several birds inside.

Just before sunset Sydney and I went to Sainte-Chapelle to see the glorious stained glass windows. It was built in just seven years and completed in 1248.

It was originally built to house the Crown of Thorns and the relic stayed there until the French Revolution when it found a new home in Notre Dame Cathedral. 

For dinner we had reservations at L'Epigramme in the 6th Arr. We have been there several times before and it did not disappoint.  It is very small and has a lovely ambiance and great food!

PS - Sorry but my dessert was so delicious that I ate it all up before thinking about taking a photo......
Mmmmm.

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, 

if one has not dined well." 

 --Virginia Woolf

Through Thick and Thin

Song - The Puppy Song by Harry Nilsson

Mika   2003 - 2016

“And it is exceedingly short, his galloping life. 

Dogs die so soon. 

I have my stories of that grief, no doubt many of you do also. 

It is almost a failure of will, 

a failure of love, to let them grow old

—or so it feels. 

We would do anything to keep them with us, 

and to keep them young. 

The one gift we cannot give.” 

 -- Mary Oliver "Dog Songs"

A Bare Spot

Song - Animal Crackers in My Soup by Shirley Temple


The critters were abundant in Lake Tahoe over the last two weeks.

There was a Ladybug hatch one day at the beach.  They would float in on the water, land in the sand, dry off and fly away.  It was hard to cool off in the water with out stepping on them as they blanketed the shoreline.

The Canadian Geese and Sea Gulls were out in record numbers as well.  They could hear you opening your lunch from across the lake! 

The Merganser's and ducks would float in and out.

Every morning several Tiger Swallowtails would great me "good morning"! It was lovely to watch them float through the forest weaving in and out of the trees.

I saw squirrels, chipmunks, huge Carpenter Ants, deer and this little fellow came to visit Mr. B and me when we returned to the cabin from the beach.....

I named him "Bobby Bear".

Doesn't that just fit this big guy (who was about the size of a VW bug!)?

I think he needs a pedicure........

Cute, fuzzy-wuzzy guy who was focused on getting to the creek behind me.

There were lot's of Robins, Stellar Jays and songbirds. I even saw a Bald Eagle but wasn't quick enough with my camera.

Can you see the White-Headed Woodpecker?  I had never seen one of them before. It was just after a thunder shower.

The Forest Rangers had a "bird show" going on near Camp Richardson, just down the street from our cabin.  There was a Kestrel which was found in someone's swimming pool.

A Red Tailed Hawk.........

And a Gyrfalcon or "white falcon" who had to wear a blinder the entire time because he was raised by one man and never saw any other people.  When the man died, he would become traumatized if he saw other people.

This is the woman who is now raising him.  She is a Master Falconer and the young woman several photo's above is her apprentice.  Falcons were used for hunting before guns were invented.  It's how they got food on the table for the family!

But one of my favorite critters was a litter of Coyote pups who were having a great time playing with each other on this log. We saw them on our way home from Yemmonaide Lake (Angora Lake).

And now to show you the fiercest animal of the forest.......

She was on-guard all day long and in the afternoons she was plain tuckered out!  Probably dreaming about chasing squirrels......


"The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight.  The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention." 
- May Sarton